2022-2023 Application and Verification Guide

Students (not international students) who wish to apply for scholarships, grants, and/or student loans are required to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The college code to be used on the FAFSA for New York Institute of Technology is 002782. The FAFSA is available online at studentaid.gov on October 1 each year. For maximum consideration for all types of financial aid, students must file their FAFSA applications by the February 14 priority date.

Graduate or professional students are considered independent for federal student aid purposes.

Requirements for Federal Student Aid

In order to qualify for federal student aid, students:

• Must be accepted into a New York Institute of Technology degree-granting program or eligible certificate program. Students must be fully matriculated in that program.
• Must have a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent, such as a General Educational Development (GED) certificate or Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC™), or must have completed homeschooling at the secondary level as defined by state law.
• Must be making satisfactory academic progress toward their degree (see Satisfactory Academic Progress section for policy).
• Must be enrolled at least half-time (six credits) to receive aid from Federal Direct Loan programs (subsidized, unsubsidized, or PLUS).
• Must sign statements on the FAFSA stating:
  1. You are not in default on a federal student loan and do not owe money on a federal student grant, and
  2. You will use federal student aid only for educational purposes.
• Must not be incarcerated. Incarcerated students are not eligible for federal student loans, but may be eligible for College Work Study.
• Must not be in default on a prior federal student loan.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident or other eligible noncitizen.
• Must have a Social Security number.
• With the exception of unsubsidized and PLUS loans, all other federal student aid requires students to demonstrate financial need.

Verification

There is a process for verifying a student’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and making corrections because students sometimes make errors on their application. Verification is a process by which a school collects information to ensure that the FAFSA has been completed correctly. The Central Processing System (CPS) of the Department of Education selects which applicants must be verified. The university also reserves the right to select applications for verification.

If a student’s application is selected for verification, either by the CPS or by the institution, verification is required to be performed by the school. Each year, the Department of Education will determine which items on the FAFSA must be verified.

For the 2022–2023 academic year, students who are selected for verification will be placed in one of the following three verification groups. The verification group determines which FAFSA information must be verified. The student must submit the Verification Worksheet that corresponds with the Verification Group. New York Institute of Technology Verification Worksheets are available for download, or directly from the Office of Financial Aid.

Verification Tracking Groups

• Standard Verification Group (V1): Students who are tax filers must verify adjusted gross income, U.S. income tax paid, untaxed portions of IRA distributions, untaxed portions of pensions, IRA deductions and payments, tax-exempt interest income, education credits, household size, and number in college. Students who are not tax filers must verify income earned from work, household size, and number in college.
• Custom Verification Group (V4): Students must verify identity/statement of educational purpose.
• Aggregate Verification Group (V5): Students must verify identity/statement of educational purpose in addition to the items in the Standard Verification Group.

Applicants selected for verification will be notified on the Student Aid Report (SAR). In addition, upon receipt of the Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR), the Office of Financial Aid will send a missing information letter to the student informing the student that their application has been selected for verification and which documents must be submitted. The verification results of identity and high school completion status for students whose 2022–2023 ISIR had a Verification Tracking Group of V4 or V5 must be reported to the Department of Education in a timely manner. As such, students whose 2022–2023 FAFSA has been selected for V4 or V5 verification must submit the required documents to the Office of Financial Aid within 14 days of the request for information. Students unable to submit the required documents in person should contact the Office of Financial Aid for assistance.

In accordance with federal guidelines, verification must be completed no later than 120 days after the last day of the student’s enrollment. Students may receive an estimated financial aid package prior to the completion of the verification process. However, New York Institute of Technology does not disburse any federal financial aid funds until the verification process is completed. The university reserves the right to withhold some institutional aid funds until the verification process is completed. Students who fail to submit the required verification documents will not receive federal aid.

Reference: 2022–2023 FSA Handbook Application and Verification Guide, Chapter 4